Why Don’t You Promote Being a Designated Driver?
Why doesn’t this site do more to promote the use of a designated driver? This single sentence was all that was sent to me in an e-mail from a visitor to my DriveSmartBC web site. With the Christmas season upon us, it’s probably a great time to revisit the subject.
A designated driver is a driver who abstains totally from the consumption of alcohol at a social event so that they may drive their friends home safely afterward. They are not the person in the group that has had the least amount of alcohol to drink. Know who is going to be your designated driver before you leave for an evening of fun and adventure.
Plan how everyone is going to get to and from the event before anyone leaves for it. This way only one vehicle makes the trip and there is no dilemma about what to do with “extra” vehicles at the end of the night. In other words, remove the temptation for someone that just has to have their vehicle back home afterward.
What happens if you don’t plan ahead or the designated driver becomes the designated drunk? Take advantage of Operation Red Nose or similar programs if they operate in your community. Phone a sober friend or family, call a taxi, take transit or even consider walking home.
Designated Driving Programs Around the World:
Who’s DES Tonight? – Australia
Operations Conducteur Designe – France
Conductor Designado – Argentina
Cst. Tim Schewe (Ret.) runs DriveSmartBC, a community web site about traffic safety in British Columbia. For 25 years he was an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including five years on general duty, 20 in traffic and 10 as a collision analyst responsible of conducting technical investigations of collisions. He retired from policing in 2006 but continues to be active in traffic safety through the DriveSmartBC web site, teaching seminars and contributing content to newspapers and web sites.
